Jewelry comprising a plurality of members connected together by swivel means



April 8, 1969 HAR 3,436,907

C. BE JEWELRY COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF MEMBERS CONNECTED TOGETHER BY SWIVEL MEANS Filed June 16, 1967 US. Cl. 59-s0 United States Patent 3,436,907 JEWELRY COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF MEMBERS CONNECTED TOGETHER BY SWIVEL MEANS Claude Behar, 9 Rue Buifault, Paris, France Filed June 16, 1967, Ser. No. 646,563 Claims priority, application France, Feb. 7, 1967,

Int. Cl. F16g 13/1b, 13/00; A44c /00 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A chain of ornamental members connected together by swivel means, each member having at least two faces presenting a different appearance so that the appearance of the chain as a whole may be altered by rotating one or more of said members relative to the others.

The invention relates to jewelry such as necklaces, bracelets, clips, and the like, which comprise a plurality of members pivotally connected together like the links of a chain so as to impart thereto a certain flexibility, each member being permanently decorated as is conventional in the jewelry trade, that is to say, by selecting the materials according to their shape and contour, and possibly by the insertion of stones.

The object of this invention is to provide jewelry of this type, the appearance of which can be changed by modifying the appearance of each member individually.

The object of the present invention is to provide a new article of manufacture which consists of a piece of jewelry essentially characterized by the fact that each joint between two successive members comprises mechanical means which not only pivotally connect the members to each other in a chain like manner, but also permit the individual members to rotate relative to each other about the longitudinal axis of the article, like a swivel, so as to make it possible to interchange arbitrarily the visible faces of certain selected members, all of said members being differently decorated on their two faces.

In order that the invention may be better understood, one embodiment thereof will now be described, purely by way of illustration and example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of one part of the article, with one member shown in section; and

FIG. 2 shows this part of the article in perspective.

The article of jewelry comprises, in a conventional manner, a series of members 1 each consisting of one or more components, preferably of precious metal, the nature and shape of which may be selected at will by the jeweler. These members 1 may also be sculptured or engraved in various decorative motifs, and may have precious stones set into them.

The characteristic feature of the piece of jewelry according to the invention resides in the fact that the two faces of each member 1 are decorated so as to present different appearances.

The two members 1, which may be identical or different in shape or appearance, are connected to each other by mechanical means which permit the members to swing relative to each other in a direction perpendicular to their principal faces, and in their own plane like the links of a chain, and which also permit each member to rotate independently of the others about the longitudinal axis of the chain composed of said members.

These mechanical means may take various forms but preferably comprise, as shown on the drawings, a projection 2 having a rivet head 3 at the bottom of a hole 4 in a link, while its other end comprises an eye 5 pivotally mounted between two ears 6 on an adjacent link which form a fork pierced by a pin 7. This mechanical connection acts like a swivel.

The hole 4, into which the hole 8 leads, may be one of the seats which hold the precious stones when the members .1 comprise such stones, as is usually the case.

It will be seen that in this way each member may pivot about the longitudinal axis of the chain, that is to say, about the projections 2 and the holes 8, and at the same time swing perpendicularly to these members about the axes 7. They may swing in their own plane or not, depending on whether more or less play is left in the connections.

The article of jewelry made in this manner, which may be a necklace, a bracelet, or an earring, or any other decorative device, may thus be used in different Ways.

In the first place, all the members 1 may be so arranged that those of their faces having corresponding decorative motifs are visible.

In the second place, all the members may be turned over to expose their opposite faces.

Finally, each member may be individually oriented so as to exhibit combinations of the decorative motifs on the various members selected according to the taste and preference of the wearer. The number of combinations available is almost unlimited, and changes in the appearance of the article may be effected almost instantaneously without having to take the article of jewelry oif.

It will be appreciated that the foregoing embodiment has been described purely by way of example and may be modified as to detail without thereby departing from the basic principles of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A chain comprising a plurality of ornamental members, and swivel means connecting said members together in series, at least one of said members having opposed faces presenting a different appearance so that the appearance of the chain as a whole may be altered by rotating said at least one member relative to the other members.

2. A chain as claimed in claim 1 in which each swivel means comprises a link pivotally attached to one of the two members which it connects and rotatably seated in the other of said two members.

3. A chain as claimed in claim 1 in which said at least one member comprises a recess serving as a setting for a stone and said link projects into said recess through a hole in the side thereof, said link being rotatable in said hole and having a head larger in diameter than said hole positioned in said recess.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,305,909 6/1919 Lawson 5995 1,840,681 1/ 1932 Seidman 59-80 2,257,579 9/ 1941 Starr 5980 CHARLES .W LANHAM, Primary Examiner. G. P. CROSBY, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 59-95; 631 0 

